Kratas waved the gun. “Get on with it.”
I eyed Tate, wishing he had Bones’s mind-reading skills. Less than twenty minutes, okay, if we drag out the kissing and such, we can be almost there. Then Bones and the others will be close enough to find Hykso, if we end up killing whoever knows, we’ll finish up here, and drinks will be on me. But first…
Tate kissed me, brushing away my fake tears.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured. “Just pretend we’re alone. Don’t look at them. Think about how much you love to be touched like this.”
The translation was clear—I had to act like he and I had done this before. Some of my reticence could be rationalized as fear. Not all of it.
I took a deep breath. If someone would have told me this morning that I’d spend tonight getting to second base with Tate, I would have laughed and called them a liar. But that was exactly what I was about to do, though second base was as far as I was willing to commit to this charade.
Tate gave me a deep, openmouthed kiss. I put my arms around him, letting my fingers play in his short hair as I tried to simultaneously keep an eye on the vampires through slitted lids and act like I was getting turned on by Tate’s attention.
But I wasn’t. Inside me, guilt was competing with the ruthlessness that said we had to get closer to our target. Right now, guilt was winning. Desire was pretty far from anything I felt.
Tate knew it, too. He broke the kiss, staring at me with mixed green and blue eyes. I knew he could tell that this wasn’t doing anything for me, and so could the other vampires.
Kratas cocked the gun. Dammit all to hell. I’d have to fake this better.
I twined my arms around Tate and pulled myself onto his lap, drawing his head to my throat. The feel of his tongue and fangs grazing the sensitive skin of my neck reminded me of Bones, and there were shivers to show for that. I arched my back and sucked on his throat in return. Tate shuddered, his hands wandering up my back to my breasts.
Warning shot through me. Did Tate remember about the two knives strapped to my upper back? Or had he forgotten that in his distraction over the extremely compromising position we’d been forced into?
I reached for his hands, sliding them to the front of my jeans.
“I don’t have to get all the way naked in front of them, do I?” I asked, making my voice high and vulnerable.
Tate’s gaze met mine. His eyes were all green now. “No, baby. This’ll do.”
He helped me slide my jeans off even as, absurdly, the night I met Bones flashed in my mind. How Bones had called my seduction bluff after I’d lured him to a deserted patch of woods. You weren’t going to shag me with all your clothes on, were you, Kitten? Guess all you’ll need off is your knickers, then. Come on. Don’t take all bloody night.
I’d been embarrassed taking my pants off then and I was now, too, though for different reasons. Not because I was shy over Patra’s five gawking vampires eyeing my ass in its skimpy thong—hell, I wanted them to look, it made for great distraction—but because it was Tate dragging my jeans down my legs. Tate’s eyes wandering over me with a lust so raw, I almost abandoned my act right there, getting closer to Hykso be damned.
But then something changed in Tate’s gaze. He glanced at the vampires leering at me, and anger tightened his jaw. I almost heaved a relieved sigh, even though Tate’s being possessive was something that meant trouble later. Right now, though, it had the needed effect of getting him back on track. He kissed me again, but I could feel there was more calculation to it, even though it looked like he was being just as enthusiastic as before.
From the brief sideways glances I stole, with my mostly bare ass on display, the men were getting more into the show. Only Kratas seemed unaffected. His trigger finger didn’t ease a fraction. Even through my irritation, I appreciated Patra’s decision to place him with this group. Dedication in the midst of distraction was a valuable trait. I just wished it wasn’t being used against me at the moment.
Of course, if he were human, I wouldn’t have concerned myself with the gun pointing at me. I could dodge the bullets faster than a human could fire them, but not faster than a vampire. I knew that from painful experience.
I let Tate shift until he was on kneeling in front of me, since it completely cut off their view of my back. Much easier to go for my knives this way.
“Enough stalling.”
Kratas tapped his gun for emphasis. At a guess, we were almost to the halfway point. Shit. This was going to be close.
Mentally I shouted a message to Bones, although I had no idea if he was close enough to hear me. I’m going to count it down, Bones. School’s out at zero.
Five…
Tate stopped kissing me to unbutton his pants. His eyes were blazing green.
Four…
I clutched his shoulder while my other, hidden hand coiled around my knives.